Abstract
The level structure of negative ions near the electron detachment limit dictates the low-energy scattering of an electron with the parent neutral atom. We demonstrate that a single ultracold atom bound inside a Rydberg orbit forming an ultralong-range Rydberg molecule provides an atomic-scale system that is highly sensitive to electron-neutral scattering and thus allows for detailed insights into the underlying near-threshold anion states. Our measurements reveal the so-far unobserved fine structure of the triplet of and allows us to extract parameters of the associated -wave scattering resonances that deviate from previous theoretical estimates. Moreover, we observe a novel alignment mechanism for Rydberg molecules mediated by spin-orbit coupling in the negative ion.
- Received 17 April 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.073003
© 2019 American Physical Society